1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector for a substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-085091 discloses a connector for a substrate. The connector has a square pillar-shaped hood in which a mating housing can be fit. The hood is mounted on the upper surface of the circuit substrate (printed-wiring substrate) and terminal fittings mounted in the hood are connected to conductive paths of the circuit substrate by soldering.
A supporting wall is formed at the rear end of the bottom surface of the hood and extends in the widthwise direction of the hood. A lower surface of the supporting wall contacts the upper surface of the circuit substrate and through-holes are formed at the widthwise ends of the supporting wall. Bolts are passed through the through-holes and are tightened to fix the hood to the circuit substrate.
The bottom surface of the supporting wall of the hood defines a dedicated supporting construction for the connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-142209, and hence there is a required material cost for this supporting construction. The electrical connector industry is very competitive, and excess costs are always a concern. Consideration has been given to omitting the supporting wall so that the entire bottom surface of the hood contacts the circuit substrate. However, the hood is susceptible to thermal effects from the circuit substrate in a high-temperature environment where reflow soldering or the like is used. Consequently there is a fear that the hood may be deformed by thermal expansion and may not be supported stably by the circuit substrate.
The invention has been completed in view of the above-described situation. Therefore an object of the invention is to provide a connector for a substrate without a high production cost for the supporting construction for the circuit substrate while ensuring that a hood of the connector is supported stably by the circuit substrate.